Blue Planet Overture
by TheSilverFox06
Summary: Jet goes on another personal bounty hunt, but runs into an unexpected character...
1. Jet flies solo: again

"Blue Planet Overture"  
Written by TheSilverFox06  
Proofread by Cyberwraith9  
  
Author's Forward  
  
This story takes place in-between episode 10: Ganymede Elegy, and episode 11: Toys in the Attic. I'm not real big into fanfics, but I decided to write this because I'm a huge Bebop fan. Needless to say, this is my first fic, so go easy! :P Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 1: "Jet flies solo... again"  
  
The mood onboard the Bebop, now in hyperspace headed for Earth, was one of tranquility. Ed, Ein, and Spike were all asleep, Jet was tending to his bonsai trees, and Faye was nowhere to be found (probably applying countless beauty products). Everybody was relaxed. It seems collecting the bounty on Rhint the day before instilled a sense of relief in everyone.  
Spike awoke from his deep slumber, only to realize that Big Shot was almost over. He didn't much care, since he actually had money for a change. "Guess I'll see if they have any pocket change at the end of the show" he thought to himself.  
Spike flipped on the screen with his shoe, as he normally does, and began to watch with his eyes still droopy from his nap.  
Punch's familiar voice filled the quiet room, "That's all we have for you today, cowboys, catch us nest ti... Oh, I have just been handed this notice!"  
"Oh, my! What's it say, sugar?" said Judy with anticipation.  
"Well, let's see here" Punch said quietly as he fumbled with the paper. "The ISSP has just posted a forty million wulong reward on the Queen of Diamonds for the assassination of a prestigious ISSP investigator. This is big news!"  
"Wow! That's a lot of dough, bounty hunters!" added Judy.  
Spike, who wasn't paying much attention before, now had his eyes fixated solely on the screen.  
"For those of you who don't know, the Queen of Diamonds is a notorious and mysterious assassin for the Syndicate!"  
Judy cut in, "You better watch yourselves out there, guys!"  
Punch continued, "You got it, Judy. Well, barring any other surprise notices, the show is finally over! See you next time on Big Shot!"  
Spike turned his head toward Ed, who was just waking up due to the noise from the show. "Hey, Ed!"  
"Nyah?"  
"See what specifics you can get on the bounty just posted on the Queen of Diamonds. Real name unknown."  
"Okaaaaaaay."  
As Ed started typing away, Jet walked in the room. He had heard Spike mention the bounty to Ed.  
"After another bounty already, Spike?" Jet inquired.  
Ed popped out of nowhere before Spike could answer. "Here she is! Diamond of Queens, Queen of Diamonds. Verrrrrrry bad girl."  
"Well" started Jet, "who are you gonna hit up for clues on this one?"  
"I think you'll be interested in taking this one yourself, Jet" Spike answered seriously.  
With a puzzled look on his face, Jet walked over to Ed's computer to take a look at the details. The first thing he saw was the amount. "Forty million wulongs! What's up Spike? Why don't you want in on this one?"  
"Keep reading."  
Jet hesitated for a moment, then continued to peruse the screen. When he got to the crime committed, his face turned from puzzlement to anger. "You're absolutely right, Spike" Jet said with a serious tone. "This bitch is mine."  
* * *  
Almost immediately, Jet went to his private quarters to call his good buddy Bob. Quite to his surprise, Bob was doing some actual work instead of looking at magazines when he answered the call.  
"Hey Jet, what's up."  
"I think you know what I want, Bob" Jet answered with a smirk.  
"Sorry Jet, no can do. I wanna catch her just as much as you do, so no inside information this time."  
Jet was a little thrown back by the rejection at first, but quickly thought of a good response. "Bob. Tell me honestly: you want someone to beat the crap out of that woman, right?"  
"You bet I do, Jet."  
"So, with that considered, who would you rather have her captured by? The ISSP or me?"  
Bob stopped his work, thought for a few seconds, then let out a small chuckle. "All right, Black Dog, you got me again. Here's the scoop, but you better be quick 'cause the ISSP is busting its tail off on this one."  
"I'm listening" said Jet, as he leaned closer to the screen.  
"About four hours after the assassination, which took place on Mars, some officers reported a double murder near the docks. Seems the Queen of Diamonds murdered two guys and hijacked their ship, but hid them well enough to have already arrived on Earth before the bodies were discovered. We know she went to Earth because we pulled the ship's hyperspace gate logs."  
"Sure, but how do you know it was her?" interrupted Jet.  
"She left her trademark on the two guys she killed."  
"Her trademark?" inquired Jet.  
"Geez Jet, you don't even know about her trademark? All right. The Queen of Diamonds doesn't use conventional weapons, she throws these razor sharp plates of metal, painted to look like ordinary playing cards. Anyway, after she kills her victim, she uses a queen of diamonds to cut a diamond shape out of their forehead, and places the card on top."  
"How... psychotic" Jet said with a disgusted look on his face.  
"Yeah, tell me about it." laughed Bob. "Anyway, good luck with your hunt."  
"You too Bob, see you later."  
* * *  
Jet stood up and headed for the hanger to make some final repairs the Hammerhead, since the Bebop was due to land on earth in a few hours. As he began to walk, Jet noticed Faye standing in the doorway. She had obviously heard Jet getting some info on a new bounty-head, but didn't know the details.  
"So, when are we going to pick up our new bounty?" said Faye, as she smiled at Jet.  
Jet stopped dead in his tracks, stared at Faye and barked in a deep tone, "Stay out of this."  
To Faye, this comment came completely out of left field. For once, she was at a loss for words. She looked down the hall at Spike for some help, but Spike just shook his head and said, "You better do as he says, Faye. This one's all his."  
Faye got an angry look on her face, and started to stomp back to her quarters, muttering to herself, "This is twice in a row that guy gets all the action. Who does he think he is anyway?"  
Spike and Jet looked at each other. Spike broke the silence, "Just ignore her, Jet."  
"I usually do." 


	2. The Black Dog bites a poisonous snake

"Blue Planet Overture"  
Written by TheSilverFox06  
Proofread by Cyberwraith9  
  
Chapter 2: "The Black Dog bites a poisonous snake"  
  
Jet took off in the Hammerhead as soon as the Bebop touched down off the eastern shore of North America. He had no idea where the Queen of Diamonds was hiding, so he thought he would fly from city to city, seeking out information. But, before Jet arrived at his first stop, he got a call on his ship's communicator. Spike's face appeared in the display.  
Jet talked first, "I was just about to arrive at my first stop Spike. What's goin' on?"  
"I just got a call from Bob. It seems he has some more info for you."  
Jet became more interested. "Oh? And what would that be?"  
"He says the ISSP just found the hijacked ship abandoned off the coast of New York City. They think the Queen of Diamonds is hiding somewhere around there."  
Jet's face immediately turned from excitement to disappointment. "Great. Finding a person in New York is like finding a needle in a thousand haystacks. Well, I guess all I can do is head up there and look around for anything suspicious."  
"Okie dokie" replied Spike, right before he turned off the communicator.  
Following the tip from Bob, Jet turned the Hammerhead north, and soon arrived at New York City. He started to search the tops of buildings, looking for a spot to park his ship, when he noticed two figures standing motionless on top of one of the taller structures. Jet magnified their images with the ship's camera, to see if he could find out what was going on. One of the figures was completely covered in robes, and the other was a woman wearing a black dress with a big red diamond on the front and back. "What luck!" Jet thought to himself. He knew the woman was the Queen of Diamonds, and he figured the other person was another bounty hunter trying to nab her. "I better get there quick and try to get her before that other bounty hunter does."  
As Jet approached the top of the building, both figures turned to look at him. The one in robes said something to the Queen of Diamonds, but Jet couldn't make out what it was. Then, to Jet's surprise, the robed person ran into the stairwell, fleeing from the scene. The Queen of Diamonds took one step in chase, then stopped and faced the Hammerhead.  
Jet turned on his intercom, "Queen of Diamonds: put your hands in the air and surrender yourself now."  
The Queen of Diamonds let out a laugh and said, "I have a better idea." She reached into her pocket and pulled out an ace of spades. Before Jet could do anything, she threw the card at the Hammerhead, and stuck it into the side of the hull. At first, Jet didn't think it did anything, but he was very wrong. The card exploded, taking out a sizable chunk from Jet's beloved ship.  
"Shit!" yelled Jet as he gripped the controls, and managed to steer the damaged ship to a skidding halt on top of the building before the engine cut out. He immediately drew his gun and leaped out of the cockpit, expecting to engage in combat with the Queen of Diamonds. After looking around, however, Jet found that she was long gone, and he had missed his bounty.  
* * *  
After spending a good chunk of change getting the Hammerhead airlifted back to the Bebop, Jet and Ed went to work to try and find any clues from the video taken by the camera onboard Jet's trashed ship. At first, they looked to see if they could find out how the Queen of Diamonds escaped, but the ship was shaking around too much after the explosion to make anything out.  
"Well" said Jet, "maybe if we can find out who that other bounty hunter was, I can follow him around and try to pick up any bits of info. Ed, see if we can get a clear shot of his face."  
"Man in shadows, reveal yourself!" Ed spouted in a spooky yet silly way as she started clicking away at her keyboard. "Here's the best I can do, Jet Jet. Can you tell who the spooky man is?"  
Jet got a discouraged look on his face. "No, I can't tell anything from that. All we can see clearly is one of his eyes."  
Spike interrupted from the doorway, "You can tell a lot from somebody's eyes."  
"Oh?" replied Jet. "Then why don't you tell me who this is?"  
Spike strolled over to the screen and stared at the mystery figure. His face suddenly got very serious. "Where is he? Did he say anything?" blurted Spike.  
Jet stuttered with his response, "Uh, well, I think he did say something, but I couldn't hear it. Maybe we can make it out if we amplify the audio on the tape. Ed?"  
Ed immediately went to work. After about ten seconds of typing furiously, Ed yelled out "All done!" and pushed a button. All six ears leaned in to try and make some sense out of the noise.  
After the tape played for two seconds, the hooded figure faintly said, "We'll meet again in the sky, when the Sun is high."  
Right away, Spike left the room and secluded himself, preparing for the next day.  
"What's up with him?" asked Faye, who had been watching from the corner.  
Jet shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that when he gets this way, get out of his way. If he wants to deal with that psycho, he can go ahead." 


	3. Tag team: enter Spike

"Blue Planet Overture"  
Written by TheSilverFox06  
Proofread by Cyberwraith9  
  
Chapter 3: "Tag team: enter Spike"  
  
The next day, about 15 minutes before noon, Spike emerged, covered in weapons.  
Jet stopped him immediately. "Spike! Where are you going, and why do you need all that firepower?"  
Spike stared at Jet for a few seconds, then replied, "I'm going to the sky."  
Jet thought about Spike's mystic comment for a couple of seconds, which was enough time for Spike to walk around him without being noticed. "Hey, wait! Spike!" called Jet as Spike headed for the hanger.  
"Don't follow me" said Spike, as he jumped into the Swordfish and started the engine. Since there was nothing Jet could do, he stood there and watched Spike take off.  
* * *  
Spike had a determined look on his face as he flew toward New York. He knew exactly what the robed figure had meant when he said "in the sky". Spike headed straight for the tallest building in New York. As he approached the rooftop, Spike saw two figures standing on top, as if they were about to fight each other. The section of the roof that these two were standing on was about forty feet by forty feet of smooth concrete, with a door to a stairwell in one corner, and some ducts in an adjacent corner.  
Instead of waiting for the Queen of Diamonds to throw an exploding card, Spike fired his guns at the rooftop, in-between the two people standing on top. Both the Queen of Diamonds and the robed figure dove for cover, the Queen of Diamonds going behind the ducts, and the robed figure going behind the stairwell. This allowed Spike enough time to land his ship on the roof.  
As soon as Spike jumped out of the cockpit, he headed for the robed figure. The two stared each other down for a few seconds before Spike broke the silence. "So, have you decided to take this bounty as an opportunity to climb the ranks, Vicious?"  
An evil laugh emanated from within the robes, which were immediately shed to reveal Spike's longtime nemesis. A demonic grin formed on Vicious' face as he said, "You know me all too well, Spike. Fortunately for me, I get to kill two birds with one stone."  
Just after finishing his sentence, Vicious glanced over in the direction of the Queen of Diamonds. Knowing that Vicious would never take his eyes off of his opponent during a match, Spike hit the deck. A razor sharp four of clubs came whizzing over his head as soon as he hit the ground.  
Seeing this as a golden opportunity, Vicious drew his sword and charged Spike, spouting a warcry as he ran. Spike tried to pull out one of his guns and fire, but it was knocked out of his hand by the sword before he could do so. After Vicious made a forehand swing to knock away the gun, he followed up with a backhand swing aimed at Spike's neck. Vicious' swing was stopped short, however, when Spike hit his arm. The shock sent the sword flying, and the warriors were locked in an old fashioned hand to hand duel.  
Spike and Vicious started exchanging blow after blow. They seemed evenly matched, each edging in their fair share of blocks and counters. Vicious, however, was not as adept at unarmed fighting as Spike was, so Spike slowly began to gain the upper hand. In a flurry of punches and kicks, Spike started knocking around Vicious like he was practicing on a dummy. The two adversaries were advancing from the stairwell to the ducts, as Spike kept moving in on Vicious, and Vicious kept backing away. Finally the battle paused for a few seconds. Vicious was kneeling on the ground, almost doubled over with blood trickling out the corner of his mouth. He reached in his back pocket for a hidden dagger, and got ready to pull it out.  
Seeing this turn of events, the Queen of Diamonds knew the battle was about to end, and she would have to take out the victor soon. Figuring that she would have to use a weapon which didn't require high precision to take out Spike or Vicious, the Queen of Diamonds pulled out an ace of spades.  
Just as Vicious was about to make a stab attempt on Spike, Faye in the Red Tail came flying overhead. The roar of her engines distracted both the Queen of Diamonds and Vicious. Spike, however, was used to Faye being a distraction in many situations. He drew another gun and fired it as quickly as possible. The bullet went through Vicious' side, and continued into the Queen of Diamonds' hand, causing her to drop the card. Spike followed the shot with a swift side kick to Vicious' chest, knocking him back to where the Queen of Diamonds was hiding. The card exploded, and ignited the rest of the exploding cards in the Queen of Diamonds' pockets. The resulting explosion was enormous. Faye had to retreat higher in to the air, and Spike was thrown to the other side of the building. A few seconds later, a frayed, half-burnt red diamond floated down and landed on the unconscious Spike.  
* * *  
When he awoke, Spike found himself lying on his favorite couch in the common room of the Bebop. "Deja vu" Spike muttered.  
"Yeah, you can't expect to be rescued every time you do something like that, you know" said Faye.  
"Well" replied Spike, "At least you weren't singing this time."  
The sound of screams could be clearly heard throughout the Bebop. 


End file.
